Movie News: Disney Acquires New Indiana Jones Distribution

– Disney has acquired the rights for any future Indiana Jones movies. The acquisition is not surprising since Disney bought Lucasfilm last year but financial deals have now be secured. There is as yet no news on whether there will be a fifth outing for the legendary adventurer but it is likely there have been discussions. Paramount will retain distribution rights for the first four films.

– Fast & Furious 7 has been put on indefinite hiatus after the tragic death of lead star Paul Walker last week. It’s not known when production will resume, or if it will be scrapped and a complete re-write undertaken. Universal have vowed to keep fans informed but the likelihood is that nothing will be heard for quite some time.

– Star Trek 3 has a new duo of writers on board. J D Payne and Patrick McKay will pen the script for the sequel which is expected out in 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. With his work on Star Wars Episode VII now in full swing, J J Abrams will not direct the third film, but a replacement has yet to be found.

– Dustin Hoffman has joined the cast of the as-yet untitled biopic of Lance Armstrong directed by Stephen Frears. It is currently unknown what role Hoffman will play.

– The rumour mill is in full rotation for casting of Warcraft. Variety have reported that Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell and Ben Foster are all close to signing for the project. Paula Patton and Travis Fimmel have already been confirmed.

– Dwayne Johnson’s new film San Andreas has announced a June 2015 release date. The film is a disaster movie set around an earthquake struck California.

– Gal Gadot has been confirmed to play Wonder Woman in Batman Vs Superman. Gadot has starred in the fifth and sixth instalments in the Fast & Furious franchise. The film is due out July 2015.

– The Silver Chair will be the latest adaptation of the Narnia series, and David Magee (Life of Pi) is on board to pen the script. No director has been confirmed.

– Finally, Jeremy Renner will return in the latest Bourne film, a sequel to The Bourne Legacy, with an August 2015 release date confirmed. Justin Lin will direct the sequel which is being written by Anthony Peckham.